It has become such a cliché that it is almost impossible to realize that in fact it is a great advantage if one gets the knack of ‘making the best of things’ however damn silly or worse the things are of which you are supposed to make the best. Life is a kind of Hoffnung's orchestra – if you have a bit of hosepipe and can use it as a French horn, it is useful. Though I would not go so far as to suggest that if a fly sits on your music you should, like the short-sighted German, learn how to ‘play ’eem’.